Twenty-Six MusicWeb International critics nominated 141 recordings for their 2014 favorites; of those 141, only NINE recordings were nominated by more than one reviewer. One of those nine Recording of the Year double-nominees? Brahms & Schumann: the Piano Quintets featuring the Alexander String Quartet and pianist Joyce Yang!
“I felt then that I had found my perfect recording of these two favourite works. While it remains enjoyable, Joyce Yang and the Alexanders have completely trumped it. Quite how they have managed to find new things to say about such standard repertoire is quite beyond me, but there is something to marvel at around every corner.” —David Barker
“I’m not often as bowled over by core repertoire recordings as I was by this one. After handing off the album to a friend, the second opinion came back positive too: “The Alexanders really have a great feel for Brahms,” he said, and then he borrowed all the other ASQ albums I had.” —Brian Reinhart
MusicWeb International Recordings of the Year — 2014